(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a disk device, and more particularly to a disk device having a drive unit which reproduces information from a recording disk and/or records information in the disk, wherein a disk holder is movable between an insert/eject position and a disk-loaded position so that the disk on the disk holder is loaded or unloaded.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Various types of recording media including floppy disks (FD), compact disks (CD), laser disks (LD), magneto-optical disks (MO), mini disks (MD), optical disks and others are commercially available in recent years. A disk device uses a recording disk which is one of these recording media, in order to reproduce information and/or record information. A compact disk-read-only memory (CD-ROM) and a recordable compact disk (CD-R) are types of optical disks. In a case of a CD-R disk device, a CD-R disk held on the disk device is accessed to reproduce information from the CD-R disk and/or record information in the CD-R disk by using an optical head.
It is desirable to design a CD-R disk device having a small-size, small-height structure, in order to install the CD-R disk device in a host computer. In order to provide a small-height structure for the CD-R disk device, it is necessary to widen an internal space of the disk device for installing other parts of the disk device. In addition to the need for a small-size, small-height structure of the disk device, there is a need for a reduction of the manufacturing cost for the CD-R disk device.
Further, in the case of the CD-R disk device, it is desirable to take vibration-preventive measures to prevent vibrations of a drive unit of the disk device when any impact is given to the disk device. In order to take the vibration-preventive measures for the CD-R disk device, it is necessary to widen an internal space of the disk device and install vibration preventive parts in the internal space of the disk device.
Further, in the case of the CD-R disk device, it is desirable to provide a disk device having a small-height structure in which an improved flexible printed circuit cable having a number of required signal lines is included. It is required that the printed circuit board of the CD-R disk device include many signal lines in order to reproduce information from the disk and/or record information in the disk. The signal lines of the improved flexible printed circuit cable must be connected to the signal lines of the printed circuit board.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional CD-R disk device 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the disk device 11 generally has a casing 12, a printed circuit board 13, a drive unit 14, and a cover plate 15. The printed circuit board 13 includes a control circuit therein and is arranged at a lowermost portion of the casing 12. The drive unit 14 is arranged over the printed circuit board 13. The cover plate 15 is arranged on the top of the casing 12 to protect internal parts of the drive unit 14.
A front bezel 21 is arranged at a front surface of the casing 12. The front bezel 21 includes an insertion opening 22, and an eject button 23 is arranged on the front bezel 21. The front bezel 21 includes an ejection hole 24, and the ejection hole 24 is used to manually eject the disk from the disk device 11 when an emergency occasion occurs.
The drive unit 14 includes a drive mechanism 25, a slider 26 and a disk holder 27. A disk cartridge 29 containing a disk (CD-R) 28 is inserted into the disk holder 27. The disk cartridge 29 has a shutter 29a. When the disk cartridge 29 is inserted, the shutter 29a of the cartridge 29 is slid so that the disk 28 is partially exposed.
The drive mechanism 25 includes a chassis 31 and an optical head 32 mounted on the chassis 31. The drive mechanism 25 includes a head moving unit which moves the optical head 32 in a radial direction of the disk 28. The movement of the optical head 32 by the head moving unit is supported on a pair of guide rods 33a and 33b. Further, the drive mechanism 25 includes a disk ejecting unit which automatically ejects the disk cartridge 29 from the disk device 11 by rotating an ejection motor 26a to move the slider 26. The disk ejecting unit includes the ejection motor 26a, a worm gear (not shown) and a gear 26b. The rotating force of the ejection motor 26a is transmitted to the slider 26 through the gear 26b and the worm gear.
Electrical parts of the drive unit 14 are electrically connected to the printed circuit board 13 by a flexible printed circuit cable 34.
The slider 26 moves up and down the disk holder 27. The slider 26 includes a pair of cam plates 35 provided on right and left sides of the slider 26 adjacent to the disk holder 27. Each cam plate 35 has guide portions 35a and 35b with sloping regions. The disk holder 27 has laterally extending pins 36a and 36b provided on right and left sides of the disk holder 27. The pins 36a and 36b of the disk holder 27 are engaged with the guide portions 35a and 35b of the cam plates 35 and slidable on the sloping regions of the guide portions 35a and 35b.
The disk holder 27 has a rotating lever 37. When the disk cartridge 29 is inserted into the disk holder 27, the shutter 29a of the disk cartridge 29 is slid by the rotating lever 37 so that the disk 28 is partially exposed.
In the above-described drive unit 14, when the disk cartridge 29 is not yet inserted into the disk holder 27, the disk holder 27 is arranged at an insert/eject position above the slider 26.
When the disk cartridge 29 is inserted into the disk holder 27, the slider 26 is slid in an eject direction opposite to the insert direction of the disk cartridge 29 so that the disk holder 27 is moved down from the insert/eject position to a disk-loaded position by the movement of the slider 26. When the disk holder 27 is at the disk-loaded position, the disk 28 in the disk cartridge 29 is rotated by the disk motor and is accessed by the optical head to reproduce information from the disk 28 or record information in the disk 28.
When the disk cartridge 29 is automatically ejected from the disk device 11, the eject button 23 on the front bezel 21 is depressed by the operator. The ejection motor 26a is rotated by the depression of the eject button 23 to move the slider 26 in the insert direction. The disk holder 27 is moved up from the disk-loaded position to the insert/eject position by the movement of the slider 26.
The disk device 11 includes an emergency ejection mechanism provided on the slider 26. When an emergency occasion such as a malfunction of the ejection motor 26a or a power down of a host computer occurs. By using the emergency ejection mechanism, the disk cartridge 29 can be manually ejected from the disk device 11. The emergency ejection mechanism is constituted by a crank mechanism including a crank arm and a rotary lever. The slider 26 is moved in the insert direction by the crank mechanism so that the disk holder 27 is moved up from the disk-loaded position to the insert/eject position.
In the above emergency ejection mechanism, a longitudinally extending eject lever 38 is arranged on one side of the slider 26. When the emergency occasion occurs, a shaft or the like is inserted from the ejection hole 24 of the front bezel 21 to push the eject lever 38 in the insert direction. The slider 26 is slid in the insert direction by the movement of the eject lever 38 due to the pushing force of the shaft, so that the disk holder 27 is moved up from the disk-loaded position to the insert/eject position by the movement of the slider 26.
The disk holder 27 includes a guide member 27a, and the guide member 27a serves to guide a upward or downward movement of the disk holder 27.
FIG. 2A shows a bottom of the slider 26 of the conventional disk device 11. As shown in FIG. 2A, the emergency ejection mechanism is arranged on the slider 26. The longitudinally extending eject lever 38 is arranged on one side of the slider 26. The eject lever 38 has a pin 39a and a pin 39b which vertically extend toward the bottom of the slider 26. The slider 26 has a slot 40a and a slot 40b. The pins 39a and 39b of the eject lever 38 are connected to the slots 40a and 40b of the slider 26, and the eject lever 38 is slidable on the slider 26 in the insert/eject directions. The eject lever 38 has a pin 41 at a rear end of the eject lever 38, and the pin 41 vertically extends toward the bottom of the slider 26.
A crank arm 42 has a shaft 42a at a central portion of the crank arm 42. The crank arm 42 is rotatably supported on the slider 26 by the shaft 42a. The crank arm 42 has a slot 42b at one end of the crank arm 42 and a pin 42c at the other end. The pin 41 of the eject lever 38 is connected to the slot 42b of the crank arm 42.
A rotary lever 43 has a shaft 43a at a central portion of the rotary lever 43. The rotary lever 43 is rotatably supported on the slider 26 by the shaft 43a. The rotary lever 43 has a slot 43b at one end of the rotary lever 43, and the pin 42c of the crank arm 42 is connected to the slot 43b. The slider 26 has a pair of locking portion 44a and 44b at rear central positions of the slider 26, and the other end of the rotary lever 43 is arranged between the locking portions 44a and 44b.
The crank mechanism of the above emergency ejection mechanism is comprised of the crank arm 42 and the rotary lever 43. The slider 26 is a sheet metal member, and the eject lever 38 is arranged on one side of the slider 26. It is necessary that the emergency ejection mechanism pushes the central portion of the slider 26 in the insert direction. Therefore, the emergency ejection mechanism of the conventional disk device 11 must include the crank arm 42 and the rotary lever 43.
Upon the emergency occasion, a shaft (not shown) is inserted from the ejection hole 24 of the front bezel 21 by the operator, and the shaft is brought into contact with the front end of the eject lever 38. The eject lever 38 is manually pushed in the insert direction by the inserted shaft. The crank arm 42 at this time is rotated around the pin 42a in the direction indicated by the arrow. The rotary lever 43 is rotated around the pin 43a by the crank arm 42. Thus, the slider 26 is slid in the insert direction by the rotary lever 43, so that the disk holder 27 is moved up from the disk-loaded position to the insert/eject position. When the disk holder 27 is at the insert/eject position, the disk cartridge 29 on the disk holder 27 can be taken out from the disk device 11 by the operator.
When the emergency ejection mechanism is operated, the ejection motor 26a is disengaged from the gear 26b by a mechanical or electrical unit (not shown).
Since the above-described emergency ejection mechanism including the eject lever 38, the crank arm 42 and the rotary lever 43 is used by the conventional disk device 11, it is difficult to provide a reduction of the manufacturing cost for the disk device. Further, for the conventional disk device 11 including the above emergency ejection mechanism, it is difficult to widen an internal space of the disk device for installing other parts of the disk device.
In the conventional disk device 11, the emergency lever 38 requires a large amount of the stroke to adequately slide the slider 26. The emergency lever 38 tends to vibrate in large amounts of amplitude when an impact is given to the disk device, and the emergency ejection mechanism of the conventional disk device 11 is not suitable for the prevention of the vibrations of the drive unit.
FIG. 2B shows a bottom of the drive unit 14 of the conventional disk device 11.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the drive unit 14 includes head moving units 32a and 32b, which move the optical head 32 in a radial direction of the disk 28. The head moving units 32a and 32b are arranged near the guide rods 33a and 33b. A first portion 34a of the flexible printed circuit cable 34 extends from the bottom of the drive unit 14. The first portion 34a electrically connects the head moving units 33a and 33b to the printed circuit board 13. Electrical power from the printed circuit board 13 is supplied to the head moving units 32a and 32b via the first portion 34a.
The optical head 32 of the drive unit 14 is electrically connected to the printed circuit board 13 by a second portion 34b of the flexible printed circuit cable 34. Data signals from the optical head 32, used to reproduce information from the disk 28, are sent to the printed circuit board 13 via the second portion 34b. Also, data signals from the printed circuit board 13, used to record information in the disk 28, are sent to the optical head 32 via the second portion 34b. For this purpose, it is necessary that the second portion 34b of the flexible printed circuit cable 34 include more than 20 signal lines (or wire patterns) which interconnect the printed circuit board 13 and the optical head 32.
In the conventional disk device 11, as shown in FIG. 2B, insulators 19a and 19b of a resilient material such as rubber are arranged at rear corner portions of the bottom surface of the chassis 31 of the drive mechanism 25. The insulators 19a and 19b serve to absorb the vibrations of the drive unit 14 when the disk device is impacted.
Since the flexible printed circuit cable 34 including the first portion 34a and the second portion 34b is used by the conventional disk device 11, it is difficult to provide a disk device having a small-height structure in which a flexible printed circuit cable having a number of required signal lines is suitably arranged.
In order to suitably arrange a flexible printed circuit cable having the number of required signal lines within the disk device, it is necessary to use the above flexible printed circuit cable 34. Alternatively, two or more flexible printed circuit cables may be used instead. However, in both cases, it is difficult to widen the internal space of the disk device in which other parts of the disk device are included.
If the number of required signal lines are included in a single flexible printed circuit cable, there is a problem in that the interval between the wire patterns of the flexible printed circuit cable is limited and becomes small, and the electrostatic capacity of the flexible printed circuit cable becomes too great. In the case of the conventional disk device 11, it is difficult to eliminate the above-mentioned problems. Also, the noise resistance of the flexible printed circuit cable deteriorates if the electrostatic capacity of the flexible printed circuit cable is great.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a disk device having a small-height structure in which an improved printed circuit cable having the number of required signal lines is included.
FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D show vibration absorbing parts arranged in the casing 12 of the conventional disk device 11.
In the conventional disk device 11, as shown in FIG. 1, the drive unit 14 is arranged on the printed circuit board 13 within the casing 12. In order to provide a small-height structure for the disk device 11, it is necessary to reduce an internal space between the bottom of the drive unit 14 and the top of the printed circuit board 13. The insulators 19a and 19b of a resilient material, such as rubber, are placed in contact between the chassis 31 of the drive mechanism 25 and the printed circuit board 13. The vibration preventive effect of the conventional disk device 11 against vibrations of the drive unit 14 when an impact is given to the disk device 11 is not adequate.
Further, in the conventional disk device 11, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D, a number of dampers 40a and a number of dampers 40b are arranged within the casing 12, for the vibration absorbing purpose. As shown in FIG. 2C, two dampers 40a are placed between the right side walls of the casing 12 and the drive unit 14, and two dampers 40a are placed between the left side walls of the casing 12 and the drive unit 14. As shown in FIG. 2D, two dampers 40b are placed between the bottom of the drive unit 14 and the base of the casing 12.
When mounting the drive unit 14 on the casing 12, the dampers 40a and 40b are interposed between the drive unit 14 and the casing 12.
The insulators 19a and 19b on the bottom of the chassis 31 serve to absorb vertical vibrations of the drive unit 14 when a light impact is given to the disk device 11. The dampers 40b within the casing 12 serve to absorb vertical vibrations of the drive unit 14 when a relatively heavy impact is given to the disk device 11. The dampers 40a within the casing 12 serve to absorb horizontal vibrations of the drive unit 13 when an impact is given in the disk inserting and ejecting directions to the disk device 11.
In the conventional disk device 11, the dampers 40a and 40b are used and an internal space of the disk device 11 to install the dampers 40a and 40b therein is required. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a small-size or small-height structure for the disk device.
Further, in the conventional disk device 11, it is difficult to ensure an adequate level of vibration preventive characteristic of the disk device unless the insulators 19a and 19b provide a required vibration absorbing performance.
Moreover, in the conventional disk device 11, when the disk device 11 is installed in a horizontal attitude, the vibration absorbing function is attained by the insulators and dampers. However, when the disk device 11 is installed in a vertical attitude (it stands on one side wall of the casing 12), the insertion opening of the disk holder 27 may deviate from the insertion opening 22 of the front bezel 21 due to the gravity. It is difficult for the user insert the disk into the disk device 11 or eject the disk from the disk device.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a disk device having a small-height structure in which improved vibration absorbing parts are included.